The Earth Box
by Lily Hanson
Summary: Follows Stones of the Samurai. When the Rangers had to get the stones for the Box, many of them were protected: A temple in the mountains, a giant bear and a volcano. The Earth Stone's just protected by a box, but it's still giving Emily a hard time.
1. New Training

_Disclaimer: I do not own anything._

* * *

><p>"AH!"<p>

"Emily!"

Kevin barely had the time to react as Emily was thrown right into him and the two of them hit the ground. This wasn't the first time today Emily found herself flying through the air, but this was the first time someone made an attempt to catch her, even if it was accidental.

"Sorry, Kevin," Emily coughed as she rolled off her Ranger brother and then felt herself being pulled back up to her feet by Jayden. Kevin shook his head while Mia helped him sit up.

"It's not your fault, Em."

"You're not making much progress on opning that box, I see," Mentor Ji sighed as he walked out into the yard with Mike and Antonio in tow.

"Any new information on the box, Mentor?" Jayden asked while brushing the dirt off Emily's shoulder. "If we keep trying to open it this way, Emily might fly over the roof of the house."

"And we all know how much you hate flying," Mia laughed.

"Flying's fine," Emily grunted. She walked over to the box her mother had given her and picked it up off the ground. She glared at it, "It's the landing part that I don't like."

"Let's get you washed up," Mike said, taking Emily by the arm and pulling her back into the house. She had cuts and scratches from hitting the ground over and over again and it was best they clean out the dirt before she got an infection. Emily also used this as an excuse to take a break. She tried using symbol after symbol to open the box, which was a draining task on its own, but that was only made worse every time the box sent her symbols right back at her, which was the reason she went flying.

When Mike and Emily were gone Mia looked to Mentor Ji.

"We're not even sure the Earth Stone's inside that box," she said. "The box has her Earth symbol, so we know this isn't a waste of time, but…"

"We all share your concerns, Mia," Mentor Ji nodded his head. "But we must get that box open."

"At least I'm not the only person having trouble with a box," Antonio muttered. "I feel really stupid when I think about it. Who can't open a box?"

"With any luck, the Earth Stone is being kept inside the box for safe keeping," Jayden said. "Our stones were almost all guarded by something. The Wind Stone was up in the mountains where no one would ever think to look, never mind attempt to reach."

"For obvious reasons," Mia looked down at her cast with a sigh.

"My Fire Stone was inside an active volcano. Only morons would go after it."

"I would be offended," Antonio glared at his leader, "but seeing as you went after it too, I'm only half insulted."

"And Mike mentioned getting past a bear to get the Forest Stone," Kevin said.

"A bear with a Samurai Symbol on its paw," Mia nodded. "What's up with that?"

"It seems Mike's ancestor thought it was best to have something actively guarding the Forest Stone," Mentor said. "How many people would wrestle with a bear just for a rock when there are plenty more in the forest?"

"I repeat: only a moron," Jayden chuckled.

"Emily's ancestor must have thought it best to lock the Earth Stone inside a symbol-bound box," Mentor answered. "I will probably take a lot of symbol power to open up the box."

"Power Emily doesn't seem to have," Kevin mumbled before he was smacked hard in the chest by Mia's good arm. He looked to his fiancée, "What? I wasn't insulting her! I was just stating facts."

"Instead of stating facts maybe you should focus on helping her," Mentor Ji suggested. "Kevin is right, no matter how much progress Emily is making, she will always be a few years behind you four other Rangers, especially if we leave her to train with Mike."

"The second least experienced," Jayden said as he slowly caught on to what Mentor Ji was trying to hint at. The older man nodded his head.

"I think, once again, it is time we switch partners," Mentor said. "Antonio will continue to work on the box, but when he does attend training he will be working with Kevin."

"I guess I was looking at getting a new training partner regardless," Kevin shrugged. While in her cast, Mia was going to be unable to train for a couple of weeks, leaving Kevin without a partner. She could still practice her symbols but couldn't help anyone in sword training or unarmed combat. There was too much of a risk of her getting hurt.

"Mike will be training with Jayden," Mentor Ji turned to the red Ranger, "I'm sure he'll be able to learn a few new things from you."

"I'll probably be learning a lot as well," Jayden replied. "I haven't had much chance to train with Mike. This might be interesting."

"Hold on," Antonio frowned. "If I'm Kevin's partner and Mike is Jayden's… Mia's unable to train so where does that leave Emily?"

"Until she gets the box open I will keep my eye on Emily."

"Kevin and Antonio?" Mia asked, "Mike and Jayden and Emily and Mentor Ji?" Mia leaned back into Kevin and a smirk appeared on her lips, "Maybe this was a good time to break my wrist. This should be entertaining."

Before anyone could respond, the sound of something crashing was heard from inside the house, following by Emily shouting and a thump. Mentor Ji and Jayden turned to the house curiously while Antonio, Kevin and Mia chuckled.

"Sounds like she tried to smash the box open again," Antonio said.

The Rangers made their way into the house to see what kind of damage Emily had done to herself and her surroundings this time. There was a loud groan from Mentor Ji when he saw a giant boulder in the middle of the common room. It was sitting right on top of the small box Emily was trying to open. Over in the corner, Mike was taking several steps away from the boulder and on the other side of the room Emily sat on her stool, her arms and legs crossed and a pout on her face.

"Stupid thing doesn't break," she muttered when she saw the other Rangers were in the room.

"I tried to tell her it wasn't going to work," Mike said. "For once, this isn't my fault."

"How are we going to get this boulder out of here?" Kevin asked.

Mentor Ji rubbed his temples, "As of today, no more casting symbols inside the house."

"Except for the one that'll get this rock out of here," Jayden turned to Emily. She caught his look and sighed. Leaning forward, she picked up her Samuraizer from the ground. She traced a symbol and suddenly the boulder was gone.

Mentor Ji walked over to the Earth box now that it was no longer pinned. He picked it up and tucked it in his kimono. He looked to Emily and gestured for her to follow him. The frustrated Emily huffed but did as she was told; hoping Mentor would be able to help her get the box open.

Mike chuckled when the two were gone and her saw the looks the other Rangers wore on their face after seeing the boulder in the room.

"If you think this is bad you should see the state of the barn after the earthquake," he said.

"What barn?" Jayden asked.

"Emily and I found the box in a barn out in the country," Mike shrugged. "When we couldn't open it manually she tried a symbol and accidentally caused a localized earthquake. The poor barn didn't stand a chance."

"No one stands a chance when Emily's got that Samuraizer in her hands," Mia said. "Whose bright idea was it to give her the earth powers?"

"Serena's," Kevin chuckled. He then pointed to Jayden, "Hey, it's better than her controlling fire. Imagine if that boulder had been a flame."

"She'll get the box open," Jayden said with certainty. He trusted his teammates would always find a solution to their problems, and now that Mentor was helping Emily with her symbol power he was sure she would figure out the box. "That's all that matters."

"Hopefully she opened it before I need her Stone," Antonio said. "I'm almost done programming Kevin's so it shouldn't be long."


	2. Sleep Deprivation

Ever since the cast was put on her arm Mia had trouble getting to sleep. It wasn't easy finding a comfortable position when she couldn't move her arm around. Not to mention the cast was not a comfortable sleeping buddy. With Kevin's help, she could usually find a good position and eventually would drift off to sleep, but tonight was different. Tonight there was what sounded like a battle raging on outside and the noise was keeping both her and Kevin up.

"One more earthquake and I swear, Kevin, I'm going to push them both off a cliff," Mia muttered as the ground shook. It wasn't a huge quake, just strong enough for Mia and Kevin to feel it, but when it happened every couple of minutes it was irritating.

"Mentor's just pushing Emily to her limit to see how far she can go," Kevin tried to explain to his fiancée. "Strength and determination is important for mastering Symbol Power, you know that."

"Do they have to do it in the middle of the night? Midday would work just as well, wouldn't it?"

"They've been out there doing this for hours nonstop. I'm sure Emily's going to drop soon. When she does, the earthquakes, the falling rocks and the dust pounding against the window will stop."

"Has she tried prying the box open with a crowbar?" Mia asked. "I'm sure that'll work. It's just a tiny little box."

"A tiny little box sealed by symbols that are stronger than any symbol Emily's ever created."

"So… you're telling me the yellow Ranger, way back when, was able to create a sealing symbol so powerful none of us Rangers today can undo it, and no one thought of maybe asking her to seal away Master Xandred? Meanwhile, Jayden's been working his ass off to master a sealing symbol that's never been mastered or that we're even sure will ever work completely?"

"Sealing a box and sealing a Nighlok are two very different symbols," Kevin chuckled. He kissed the side of Mia's head before rolling over in bed. "You know, the earthquakes are actually kind of rocking me to sleep. Just pretend you're on a boat."

"I hate boats."

"Who hates boats?"

"I do, you moron," Mia growled. "And I hate you for hating boats."

"Go to sleep," Kevin laughed. "You get cranky when you're tired."

"No I don't," Mia muttered, "And don't tell me what to do Mr. I-think-I-know-everything-but-really-I'm-just-a-stupid-moron-who-doesn't-have-a-clue-about-anything."

"I love you too," Kevin smiled and rolled his eyes before drifting off to sleep. Mia huffed loudly, lay down in bed and closed her eyes.

-Samurai-

"How did everyone sleep last night?" Jayden asked everyone at the breakfast table, breaking the silence that had been in the room since they all walked in. He looked around at the five other Rangers, noting their appearances ranged from completely sleep-deprived to _'what do you mean there were earthquakes and rockslides last night?"_.

"That's a stupid question, Jayden," Mia was the former. "In fact, you're stupid for asking it. Why the hell would you think that was a good question to ask? Would you ask a Nighlok if he wanted to hang out over the weekend and have a drink? No! You know why? Because that Nighlok will kill you for asking such a stupid question. Of course he doesn't want to hang out over the weekend. He plans on destroying the world by Thursday, anyways! Why would he make plans when the world has come to an end and you're not longer alive to hang out with?"

Antonio leaned over in his seat and whispered to Kevin, "She wasn't bit by a Nighlok again, was she?"

Kevin shook his head, "Worse. She didn't get any sleep."

"Ah…"

"Next time," Mia continued her rant as she reached for the jam across the table, "think before you ask a stupid question. The Nighlok won't spare your life and neither will I… dammit, why won't this jar open? Kevin…!"

"Hand it over," Kevin laughed. Mia gave him the jar and he popped the lid open. Normally the jam was a little tricky to open because the top was usually sticky, but it was especially hard for Mia to open with only one good arm. He chuckled as he handed the jar back to her, "Here you are, an open jar of jam just for you."

"Stop being a smart-ass and hand me the knife," Mia muttered. Jayden couldn't help but scoot away from Mia slightly as she asked for the knife. He was confidant she wasn't going to hurt him, yet, but he didn't want to risk being wrong.

Mike chuckled when he saw Jayden scooting away, "Still want to call yourself the fearless red Ranger?"

"Even Master Xandred would be scared of Mia in the morning," Jayden said. He cast a glance over at Emily who had fallen asleep at the table. Her head was resting on her arms in front of her bowl of soggy cereal. All Jayden could make out of his yellow teammate was a mass of blond curls and a yellow sweatshirt. "I won't even ask how she slept."

"What's this?" Mia grumbled, glaring at Jayden, "Did you finally get your first brain cell? Anyone with one brain cell would know it's stupid to ask stupid questions."

"Mia," Kevin chuckled as he touched Mia's shoulder. Her head twirled to face him, her glare following. Kevin smiled sweetly, "would you like to go for a nap now that Emily's no longer training?"

Mia nodded, grabbed her plate of toast with jam and walked back to her room to get some rest. Kevin turned to Jayden and signalled to him that it was safe to speak without being verbally assaulted by the tired pink Ranger.

"It's a good thing she doesn't have to train with us today," Antonio laughed. "I would hate to be paired up with her."

"Any idea what time Emily finally went to bed at?" Jayden asked Mike. He had fallen asleep before the end of Emily's training and had no idea when the earthquakes and other earth attacks had ceased. He figured if anyone knew (anyone who wouldn't bite his head off for asking such a _stupid question_) it would be Mike.

The green Ranger shrugged his shoulders, "I think Mentor brought her into her room at five this morning. I was too tired to check the time. I kind of just saw Mentor carrying her in and then rolled over and fell right back to sleep."

"Five-thirty," the yellow lump that was Emily muttered from behind her arms. "I didn't go to bed until five-thirty."

"She fell right to sleep, though," Mentor said as he entered the room and poured himself some tea. "I hope you got enough sleep, Emily. We'll start our next lesson in a couple of hours. Make sure you're ready."

Emily lifted her head from her arms slightly and glared at Mentor as he walked out of the kitchen. She then looked up at Mike.

"If you love me you'll stab me with a fork and leave me to die."

"I guess I don't love you then," Mike chuckled. Emily shot him another angry look and he smiled at her, "I'm kidding. Do you want one of the forks from the table or should I go for a clean one?"

"From the table," Emily answered. "If I don't bleed to death maybe I'll get a virus or an infection and that'll kill me."

"Mentor's really got you working hard, huh?" Antonio asked the yellow Ranger. "Some of those symbols you cast were bright. The light seeped into our bedroom last night from time to time, huh, Jay?"

"Mentor used to train me like that," Jayden nodded his head. "He always used to tell me the only thing you achieved by quitting was failure."

"What if I don't mind failure?" Emily asked. "Failures get to sleep. I want to sleep."

"I need that Earth Stone," Antonio told her. "You're getting it if it kills you."

"You're a wonderful teammate, Antonio," Emily grumbled sarcastically. "So willing to let other die to make your life easier. How did we used to manage without you?"

"Hey, I saved your life, remember?" Antonio chuckled. "Technically, you owe me your life. I'm going to cash in on that debt now, if you don't mind."

Emily stuck her tongue out. Antonio stuck his out in response. Emily glared at the gold Ranger and he glared back playfully. This lasted until Emily's eyes closed and her head sank down into her arms. In an instant she had fallen asleep.

Mike finished his breakfast and scooped his sleeping girlfriend up in his arms so he could carry her to bed. She was going to need all the sleep she could get before her training resumed. It seemed like Mentor Ji was working her really hard, and this wouldn't stop until her Symbol Power was strong enough to break the seal on her box and she could get the Earth Stone.

Kevin grabbed his plate and Emily's bowl of soggy cereal and walked to the sink to dump it all out.

"Emily better open that box up soon," he said to Jayden and Antonio as they helped him clear the breakfast table. "I can put up with a cranky Mia for a day or two, but anymore and this will stop being funny."

"You think your overly-tired, extremely irritable girlfriend is funny?" Antonio asked.

"It's not me she threatened to kill," Kevin chuckled and turned to Jayden, "I would stop asking questions around her if I were you."

"Noted." Jayden nodded.


	3. Too Much Pressure

The Rangers did their best to ignore the rumbling, the crashing and the sandstorms outside while they all trained in the dojo inside the Shiba House. For reasons Mentor wouldn't say, he didn't want the Rangers to train outside with Emily, nor did he want them to encourage her while she trained. He insisted this was something she needed to do on her own.

"Worried?" Jayden asked as he swung him katana at Mike while the green Ranger glanced towards the window. It was covered with so much dirt and sand that he couldn't see outside. Mike was hit in the side of the head and knocked clean off his feet. He felt the world spinning, though that could have been an earthquake, before his vision cleared and he saw Jayden's hand helping him up.

"Dude, if you know I'm distracted, don't hit me," Mike muttered. "This is training, not real life."

"Sorry," Jayden chuckled. He looked over at the window as well and then back to Mike, "We're not just doing this so Emily can open the box. We've all been making a lot of progress, but we have reached a standstill. You and Emily make an excellent team, but she can only learn so much from you and vice-versa. If you want to improve, and if you want her to improve, you both need to be challenged."

"Are you calling her weak?" Mike growled. Jayden could say whatever he wanted about Mike, but he had no right to talk about Emily and her strength. Jayden shook his head.

"I'm just saying. I'll benefit from this just as much as you will. Emily will learn a lot from Mentor Ji, and Kevin and Antonio are also teaching each other a thing or two. In the end, we'll all come out stronger."

"Except Mia," Antonio chuckled and turned to the pink Ranger who was sitting on the bench. While he was distracted, Kevin hit him in the chest. He groaned in pain and rubbed his sore spot, "Ow… sorry."

"Do I need to remind you what I'll be doing from the sidelines?" Mia said to Antonio. She held up her notebook to show off the many different symbols she had been tracing since the beginning of training. "I may be a little rusty with a sword when this stupid cast comes off, but at least I'll have stronger symbols."

"Like I said," Jayden nodded, "We'll all come out stronger."

"So, how is this Ranger thing going to work now that Mia's laid up?" Mike asked, making sure he was focused while he and Jayden sparred. "I mean, we can handle ourselves without her for a few weeks but if the monsters go mega, we'll have to rely on the Battlewing and the Clawzord."

"And the lonely little Ape trying to fit in with the big Megazords," Antonio chuckled. "Emily's probably not going to sit back and watch the battles while we have all the fun."

"Emily and I need our own Megazord," Mia huffed. "I should have kept that beetle disk."

"Then we wouldn't be able to form the Battlewing," Mike smirked. He was then hit in the head by Jayden.

"Focus, Mike."

"She's distracting… OW!"

Jayden rolled his eyes and sighed, "Mike, pay attention."

"You know what you can learn from me, Jayden," Mike smirked, this time stepping back just in time to avoid another blow to the head. Jayden furrowed his brow for a moment.

"What's that?"

"Expect the unexpected," Mike flipped over Jayden's katana, landed on his feet and dropped to his knees before swinging his own sword out and sweeping Jayden right off his feet. Before Jayden could get up, Mike held his training sword to his throat. He smirked, "I win."

"You see what happens when you focus," Jayden said. Mike pulled his sword away and helped Jayden to his feet. Jayden smiled at him, "Good job, Mike."

On the other side of the room, Kevin had Antonio pinned onto the mat, but Antonio wasn't ready to give up just yet. The battle wasn't over. Just as he was about to turn the tables he heard glass shattering and a loud thump against the wall next to where Mia was sitting. All eyes turned to Mia just in time to see a rock no bigger than a fist land on her notebook after colliding with the wall right above her and leaving a dent. They turned back to the window, where the rock had broken through, and saw sand pouring inside the dojo from the hole.

"Why do I get the feeling we're going to have a lot of repairs to make before we get either Box open?" Kevin asked the rest of his team. He pulled Antonio up and walked over to Mia, "Are you okay?"

"Didn't hit me," Mia nodded her head. She looked down at her notebook, "But now my notes are covered in dirt and dust."

As the sand stopped pouring in through the hole in the window, Antonio tried to peek outside to see what exactly had happened. He couldn't make out much, but it definitely looked like both Mentor and Emily had reached their limit. The youngest Ranger seemed exhausted and Mentor appeared to be very frustrated.

Antonio looked over his shoulder, "Jay, maybe you should go out there before one kills the other," he told the red Ranger. "I think they've both had enough."

"I'll see what I can do," Jayden nodded. He set his katana down and headed outside.

The yard looked like a giant sandpit with rocks and boulders lying around everywhere. Jayden also had to be careful to watch his step as he walked. With all the earthquakes he felt, he was sure there was a fissure somewhere in the yard. When he was finally within Mentor and Emily's earshot he spoke up.

"Go shower, Em, we're all going to head out to a restaurant for dinner."

Emily didn't argue. She didn't look like she wanted to, nor did she have the energy to do anything but agree. While Emily walked off, Mentor Ji approached the red Ranger.

"She frustrates easily," he said, "It's keeping her from progressing."

"To be fair, we all get a little irritable when we're working off three broken-up hours of sleep," Jayden said. "Emily's full of energy, even on her slowest of days, but don't you think this is pushing it?"

"She can overcome the physical exhaustion," Mentor sighed, "It's the pressure she's putting on herself that's tiring her out. She's pushing herself to work too fast. I've tried to tell her she needs to take things slow."

"We'll talk to her at dinner. We'll let her know there's no rush."

"Except the fate of the world," Mentor reminded Jayden. "Without the Earth Stone Antonio cannot finish programming the Black Box, and without the Box we won't be able to stop Master Xandred. The fate of the world rests in Emily's hands until she opens the box."

"Have you tried open sesame?" Jayden suggested with a slight chuckle. Mentor Ji simply shot him a look that told him he wasn't in the mood for jokes. Jayden sighed, "I'll find a way to take the pressure off Emily. You just try and figure out which symbol she needs to learn to open that box. One task to focus on is easier to complete. And the open sesame symbol might not involve so many earthquakes and we can all get a goodnight's sleep. Mia especially."

"Has she threatened you since this morning?" Mentor finally chuckled. He had heard the story of Mia's sleep deprived rant and threats to Jayden and found them rather amusing. He knew the pink Ranger was not a morning person and needed at least eight hours of sleep in order to be pleasant during the day.

"Not yet, but something tells me it'll be more than threats if Emily keeps her awake for another night. Mike and Kevin might be coming after you as well."

"Enjoy your dinner," Mentor patted Jayden on the shoulder, "Let Emily and the other know she has the rest of the night off. Training will resume tomorrow morning."

Jayden continued to look at Mentor until the older man sighed.

"Late tomorrow morning."

"I'll be sure to tell them," Jayden smirked.

-Samurai-

"Don't eat the buns!" Emily cried as Kevin tried to reach for the basket of bread that the waiter had set down at their table while they waited for the food. Thinking something was wrong with the buns, Kevin quickly pulled his hand away.

"Why? What's wrong with them?"

"Nothing," Emily shook her head and pulled the basket closer towards her, "they just look soft and I'm tired."

Mike pulled the bread basket away as Emily leaned forward to rest her head on the soft buns. He chuckled and redirected her head to land on his shoulder. Emily, who had her eyes closed, frowned when the side of her head hit something harder than bread. She opened her eyes and saw Mike's shoulder. She glared at it and poked it with her finger.

"You need to fatten up, Mike. You're not soft."

"Is this permission from my girlfriend to sit in front of the TV all day eating pizza?"

"Yes," Emily nodded her head. She rested her head back on Mike's shoulder, "Until then, I'll have to settle for this."

"Most girls could only dream of dating a guy as fit as Mike," Antonio smirked and glanced to a table not too far from the Rangers, where a group of girls occasionally glanced over at the Ranger boys to admire them. Every once in a while, Antonio would catch the girls giving Mia and Emily threatening looks. Antonio turned back to Emily, "You've got a girl's dream guy and you want to fatten him up?"

"Bigger guys are definitely good to cuddle with," Mia nodded in agreement with Emily. She looked at Kevin apologetically, "Sorry, but it's the truth. You've never heard a girlfriend call her stick of a boyfriend a teddy bear."

"Point taken," Kevin chuckled. He finally reached for the bread and took a bun. He ripped it open and reached for the packet of butter. He was about to butter the bread when, in the corner of his eye, he noticed Mia struggling to cut her own bun in half. "I told you to just ask," he said, taking the bread from her and easily cutting it open.

"Show off," Mia muttered as Kevin put the butter on her bread and handed it back to her.

"You really don't like relying on other people, do you?" Mike chuckled to Mia. She shook her head.

Jayden cleared his throat and kicked Antonio under the table. On the way to the restaurant he had filled in Antonio on his plan to take some of the pressure off of Emily. From his conversation with Mentor Ji, it was clear the youngest Samurai was trying to push herself way too hard and it was holding her back in her training. All Emily ever wanted to do was make her team proud and prove to them, and herself, that she was just as good as the rest of them. It was in her nature to put so much pressure on herself to do just as well as they would.

Antonio got the message after catching a signal from Jayden that pointed to Emily. He nodded to the red Ranger and looked at the yellow, "Speaking of help, Em, I really appreciate the effort you're putting in to open up your box."

"I'll try to get it open soon," Emily responded without opening her eyes.

"Don't hurry," Antonio assured her. "I've still got to finish programming Kevin's, and then I've still got Mia's, Mike's and Jayden's, which will probably be the toughest to programme, as usual. You've got time to take it easy."

"But what if the Nighlok show up and they're too strong? What if we need the Black Box and I can't get my Stone?"

"Whether the Earth Stone is programmed or not won't matter if I don't have all the other Stones in first," Antonio told her. "Just relax. It'll come to you when you're ready."

"What if I take too long? If I don't get it on time that'll push you back a few days…"

"Emily, the pressure's on both of us," Antonio said. "If you do fall behind I'm more than ready to help you."

"We'll all help you," Jayden added with a smile. He looked around the table and saw the other Rangers nodding their heads in support.

"Mentor won't let you help," Emily muttered just as the waiter arrived to their table with their food. The plates were set down and the waiter wished them a _bon appétit_ before leaving them alone once again. Emily poked her lasagna with her fork and sighed, "You guys couldn't help me if you wanted."

"I've got nothing better to do," Mia shrugged her shoulders, "How about you and I go over a few symbols in my notebook when we get home. Surely Mentor won't object to a little tutoring."

"But you don't know the Earth Symbols," Emily said.

"Em, I can read the Japanese Kanji," Mia chuckled, "That's basically what they are. As long as you tell me the word I can tell you if you're tracing the symbol properly. The more accurate the symbol the stronger the power. Once you've mastered that it's only a matter of focusing your energy into the symbol and harnessing your power. That's universal for all Samurai. I can help you with that, no problem."

"I've mastered earthquake, rock slide and sandstorm…"

"We know," the Rangers all chuckled.

Emily smirked, "I've had those since I was about twelve. But mom never really had time to teach me any of the other ones. My training was kind of rushed and I haven't been able to get much personal help here. I know the yellow Ranger used a special seal on the box, and once Mentor figures out which one exactly he'll know how to open it… but I'm not sure I'll be able to master it fast enough."

"You're a quick learner, Em," Kevin smiled at her. "We're all sure you'll get it."

"No pressure…"

"There is no pressure, Emily," Antonio said. "Seriously, Amiga, take your time. I know I will."

Emily looked up at her teammates and smiled, "Thank you," she whispered.

"Now eat up," Mike told her and gestured to her lasagna, "I hear Jayden's paying for ice-cream after dinner."

"Me?" Jayden frowned. He turned to Antonio, "I promised you ice-cream, not the entire team."

"Oops? Did I misunderstand you?" Antonio teased. "I guess the burning hot lava must have melted the part of my brain that processes hearing. Sorry, Jay."

"You heard the ice-cream part just fine."

"Selective hearing," Antonio looked to the rest of the team, "It's a blessing."

"I'm going to be broke by the time you all leave," Jayden muttered as he checked his wallet to make sure he had enough money with him to pay for ice cream for the table.

"Next time, you'll think twice before your ancestor decides to hide a rock in a volcano," Antonio said.

Jayden sighed. He rubbed his temples and turned to Mia, "Want to trade missions? I'll gladly fall off a cliff if you deal with this."

Mia looked down at her cast and then over to Antonio. She chuckled and shook her head.

"I think I'll stick with my mission, thanks Jay."

"Your mission was too easy," Mike waved his hand at Jayden, "You've got to have some kind of trouble. Kevin… okay, well his Stone just kind of turned up, but Mia fell off a cliff, I wrestled and adopted a pet bear and Emily… uh…"

Mike hesitated, unsure of how to cover up the truth of how Emily discovered her box. She and Mike had agreed not to tell the Rangers they ran into her parents.

"Emily's got to work her ass off to open a box," Kevin said, quickly coming up with an answer and unknowingly helped Mike lie to everyone else on the team.

"Yeah," he nodded. "Your challenge is Antonio and his constant whining about how hot the volcano was."

"It was hot," Antonio said with a smirk.

"I'll ship you off to Antarctica," Jayden mumbled and took a bite from the sandwich he ordered. "You won't complain about the heat once you're there."


	4. Meaningful Training

Mentor sighed loudly as he once again had to dig Emily out from a pile of dirt. His disappointed didn't go unnoticed by her. He hadn't shown a sign of encouragement since her training had begun in the morning. If anything, he was just getting more and more frustrated. Part of it was due to Emily being unable to summon up the strength to create the symbol she needed for the box. It was a tricky symbol, done purposely to keep anyone and everyone from getting whatever was inside the box. The former yellow Ranger never expected anyone to need the Earth and therefore she had locked it up so securely even her successor wasn't able to crack it open.

Another reason he was frustrated was because he didn't know how to help Emily. He had learned his lesson long ago with Mike: all Rangers needed to be taught differently. He knew Emily was energetic and playful and tried to use that to his advantage, but he was also learning she frustrated easily when she felt she wasn't making any progress and she was letting her team down. Her frustration caused her to make mistakes, mistakes made her feel like she was taking two steps backwards instead of one step forward, and this lack of progress only made her more frustrated.

He pulled her from the dirt and tried to brush her off but Emily stormed off. She grabbed her water from the ground and took a sip, keeping her back turned to Mentor. The older man let out a deep breath, which, again, didn't go unnoticed by Emily. She turned around to face him.

"I want a new partner," she demanded.

"I know you feel you aren't getting anywhere but…"

"But?" Emily pointed to the yard. It looked like someone had taken an abandoned rock quarry and had dumped it in front of the Shiba House. "Mentor Ji this is getting us nowhere! I'm scared if we continue I'll put myself in the hospital. Can't I just train with Mike again? I do well with him."

"I'm afraid Mike is no longer a suitable training partner. You have reached, if not surpassed his level of Symbol Power. There is nothing left to learn from Mike."

"There's nothing left to…" Emily turned to the house and glanced at the window that looked into the dojo, "If there's nothing left to learn from Mike why is Jayden, the best Samurai on the team, training with him?"

"Jayden and Mike have not been partners in months," Mentor reminded the yellow Ranger. "Mike will profit from learning from someone so much more skilled than he, and Jayden will benefit from Mike's unique style to improve his own battle technique."

"Fine, whatever. Give me Mia, or Kevin, or Antonio! Anyone but you!"

Mentor sighed and shook his head. He walked over to the bench by the side of the house and took a seat. He tapped the open spot next to him, inviting Emily to sit. She rolled her eyes and did so reluctantly. She had nothing against her Mentor but she couldn't believe there was no one else she could learn from aside from him.

Mentor looked out to the yard, "You have improved quite a bit since yesterday morning," he told her. "Mia's tutoring must have helped you."

"She's patient," Emily nodded. "She doesn't sigh and give me looks every time I mess up. She just tells me to forget about it and move on."

"Must like what your sister used to tell you."

"Yeah… I guess."

"Your mother must have taught you the same way," Mentor said. Emily stirred uncomfortably at the mention of her mother. Mentor Ji didn't make a habit of speaking of the former Rangers, and she found it slightly unnerving that he would bring up her mother only a few days after Emily saw her parents without his knowledge.

"Y-yeah. I don't know how many times I messed up, but mom always kind of laughed it off," Emily said. "And not the laughing at me kind of laugh. It was a good laugh. A laugh that made me laugh too."

"Did you enjoy your training?" Mentor Ji asked her. "Your mother, she made it fun for you?"

"Not intentionally," Emily shook her head. "It was always a lot of hard work, especially considering I was so far behind because of my late start. Some lessons ended in tears, but I still loved them. With Serena so sick and needing attention almost twenty-four/seven, training was the only time I really had mom to myself. She wouldn't leave me or get distracted by anything else… well, unless there was an emergency with Serena."

"Training was more than just swordplay and practicing symbols," Mentor commented. "It was bonding time for you and your mother."

"Just like helping around the farm was bonding time for me and dad," Emily nodded. "Serena needed someone by her side constantly, and there was always something that needed to be done on the farm. With only two parents, there wasn't much time left for the healthy child. Whatever time I did get with them was special… meaningful."

"I'm not an only child," Mentor said. Emily looked up at him curiously.

"What?"

"You are not the only Samurai with a sibling," Mentor smiled. "I grew up with five brothers and sisters. Each of them have taken off to fulfill their own destinies. Like you, I long for the day I can be reunited with them."

"You have a family?" Emily asked. Mentor Ji just laughed at her question.

"Of course. I wasn't hatched."

"I'm sorry," Emily's eyes widened and she gave Mentor an apologetic look when she realised what she had said. He smiled and shook it off.

"I know what you meant. I've been alone for so long, sometimes it slips my mind. When I first had to break contact with them, though, for years not a day went by where I didn't think about them."

"Are you trying to tell me you know how it feels to not talk to your family?" Emily asked. Mentor shook his head.

"I had five siblings, Emily. None of them were ever critically ill, but you can imagine just how busy both my parents were. My father had his own Samurai duties to take care of and my mother… well she had six kids and a job. My time with either of my parents was usually very short, and most times it involved me helping them out, but I always loved it, and to this day I cherish washing dishes with my mother, just as you cherish working on the farm with your father and training with your mother. It was never stressful because it important to you."

Mentor Ji stood up and reached into his kimono. He pulled out Emily's box and a piece of paper. He set the box down on the ground and then handed Emily the paper. She looked at it curiously.

"What's this?" she asked. On the paper there was nothing but a symbol Mentor had traced himself with ink. Emily couldn't read Japanese like Kevin, Mia or Jayden, but she was sure the symbol meant worthy.

"While you and the Rangers were out to dinner last night, I spent my evening studying your box," Mentor said. "I finally figured out which symbol the yellow Ranger used to seal it shut."

"Worthy?"

Mentor nodded his head, "The box will not open until you prove you are worthy of the responsibility of protecting the Earth Stone and using it wisely."

"I have to prove myself to a box?"

"I feel there is nothing more I have left to teach you. The rest of your training depends on you," Mentor placed his hand on Emily's shoulder. "When you think you have mastered the worthy symbol, open the box. It will sit here and wait for you."

"Mia's really going to have to help me out with this," Emily sighed and looked down at the paper.

"She would probably be very happy to help you," Mentor smirked. "There isn't much she can do with her broken wrist. I'm sure she's feeling a little left out and useless. Some time with her best friend might be nice."

Emily looked up at the older man as a smile tugged at her lips. She held the paper tightly in her hands and jumped to her feet. Before heading into the house to find Mia, Emily kissed Mentor on the cheek.

"Thanks, Mentor."


	5. Mia's Tutoring

Mia stared at the paper in her hand, "Worthy?"

"Yeah," Emily nodded her head. "The yellow Ranger wanted someone worthy of the responsibility of protecting the stone. I guess, because the symbol's so strong, the more they've mastered their symbol, the less likely they are to lose it to the Nighlok."

"And Mentor Ji thinks you're ready?" Mia asked. She looked at her yellow friend sympathetically, "No offense, Em, you're good with your symbol power, but you haven't quite mastered it yet. None of us really have."

"I know, I know," Emily said, "but if I can just focus I know I can do it! Mentor said you would be able to help me. He said with the cast you're useless and this would be something for you to do."

"He said I was…" Mia growled, narrowed her eyes, and hopped off the stool to grab her notebook and a pen. Kevin, who had been sitting on the couch reading a book, looked over at Emily while Mia was gone.

"Did Mentor really call Mia useless?"

Emily shook her head, "No. He said she was probably _feeling_ useless. This'll get her more motivated to help me out, though."

Kevin chuckled, "You can be a manipulative little thing, can't you?"

Emily grinned and bounced on her stool as Mia returned, "Maybe."

"Alright," Mia said, taking a seat next to Emily. She placed the notebook on the table so Emily could begin tracing her symbols. She slipped Mentor Ji's already traced symbol under a single sheet of paper and looked to Emily, "We'll start easy. You'll just trace Mentor's symbol over and over again until you think you've got it, alright?"

"Okay," Emily nodded. While she was busy doing that, Mia looked over at Kevin.

"I'm not useless…"

"Of course not," Kevin agreed with her. He rubbed his stomach with his hand, "Hey, Mia, are you hungry?"

"No, why?"

"I am."

"So?"

"You know what, never mind. You probably won't be able to do it with the cast on anyways."

Mia frowned and crossed her good arm over her broken one.

"Can't do what?"

"I was going to ask if you could get the cookies for me, seeing as I have no idea where they are, but you probably won't be able to open the packaging," Kevin slowly started to get off the couch, "Don't worry, I'll get them."

"I can get cookies," Mia huffed and quickly left the room to prove she wasn't completely useless again. Emily looked up from her work and fixed a curious look on Kevin.

"The cookies are where they always are," she told him. "You're the one who decided we would put them there."

"I know," Kevin winked, "but I don't want her feeling useless."

"You're sneaky too!" Emily giggled. Kevin pointed to the notebook.

"Do your homework, Em," he told her, trying to stay serious. He turned to the kitchen, "Hey, Mia, you wouldn't be able to pour a glass of milk for me, would you? It's fine if you can't. I can eat the cookies dry."

"I can pour milk," Mia muttered back.

"Cookies and milk?" Emily shook her head and chuckled, "Now you're just being mean."

"Emy, want cookies while I'm up?" Mia called.

Emily didn't hesitate to answer, "Yes please!"

-Samurai-

Studying with Mia went long into the night. Manipulating her had stopped after the milk and cookies.

Emily didn't mind the long hours. Neither did Mia. The pink Ranger knew how to make studying fun for the younger Samurai and even put a few jokes and pranks in along the way. Poor Jayden had no idea what hit him when he walked by the common room while Mia and Emily were taking a five minutes break and they decided he would be the perfect victim for Emily to learn how to concentrate her sandstorm powers into a remote and very specific location. Emily was still giggling when she thought about the prank. She was surprised at just how much sand Jayden's pants could hold.

But they had the most fun when they had to practice the worthy symbol with the Samuraizer. If Emily couldn't draw the symbol properly, it would backfire against her and Emily would have to react quickly to avoid getting smacked in the face by the worthy symbol. It was like a single player game of dodge ball which Emily had perfected much faster than she did the worthy symbol. Though, every time she avoided a symbol, she always let out a squeak, squeal, howl or yelp when the symbol flew towards her face. Mia never knew what to exact from the yellow Ranger and Emily was enjoying her game of symbol-dodge ball.

Finally, at the stroke of midnight, the two girls were exhausted and passed out on the stools and the couch. Kevin and Mike, who were both getting ready for bed at this time, found them sleeping and chuckled.

"You know, when the Samurai thing is done Mia should be a teacher," Mike suggested to Kevin as he walked over to Emily and scooped her up in his arms. "I don't think I've ever had that much fun while learning. If she had been my teacher I totally would have finished high school."

"I'm sure Mia was enjoying herself just as much as Emily," Kevin commented, careful not to hurt his fiancée's arm as he picked her up. "She hates the fact that she has to sit out during training. This was good for her too."

"I wonder what's inside that Black Box," Mike said. "Hopefully Antonio can crack it soon."

"It's probably some red Ranger power up," Kevin shrugged his shoulders. "I wouldn't get too excited."

"So… wait. We all work hard and risk our lives for this Black Box and Jayden might be the only one able to use it?"

"We'll see what happens," Kevin chuckled as he reached his and Mia's bedroom. "Goodnight, Mike."

"Goodnight."


	6. Blown Wide Open

Emily sat in the dirt outside the Shiba House. The box her mother had given her was still on the ground before her. In her hand, her Samuraizer was at the ready. After studying and training all night with Mia, Emily was positive she had figured out the worthy symbol. She knew how to trace it, stroke by stroke. She knew how to focus her energy. She knew how to strengthen the symbol so it would work. She just hoped she could do it all together.

Mike noticed her sitting outside in the dirt and decided to join her. Without saying a word he came to her side and sat next to her. He wrapped his arm around Emily's shoulders and squeezed her tight.

"You look like you're about ready to open it," he said. Emily rested her head on his shoulder and sighed.

"I want to."

"What's stopping you?" he pointed to the box," Crack that baby open. Show Antonio it's easy to open a stupid little box."

"Do you really think I can do it?"

"Em, I've seen you move mountains, literally," Mike chuckled and cuddled his girlfriend. "There's no reason why you can't get that box open."

"Then why isn't it already open?" Emily asked. Mike turned to her and looked down with a smile. Her took her hand in his and reached out for the box.

"Your mother wouldn't have given this to you if she didn't believe in you," he lowered his voice just in case someone decided to step outside at this moment. "She knows you can get this box opened and so do I. I don't care how many tries it takes, you'll never disappoint."

"Are you going to do it now?"

The green and yellow Rangers turned around when they heard Mia's voice, and they saw her coming from inside the house. She closed the door and made her way over to the young couple.

Emily took the box from Mike and nodded her head. She set it down a couple of feet away from her boyfriend and best friend and then signalled for them to back away.

"It's got a bit of a kick when I screw up," she told them. "This is just in case."

Mia and Mike both nodded and took a few steps away from the box until they assumed they were far enough away to not be caught in the explosion should it happen. Over by the house, Mentor Ji, Kevin, Jayden and Antonio made their way outside to watch the big moment.

Emily closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her grip around her Samuraizer tightened as she prepared herself to trace her symbol. Before doing so, she looked over at Mike and Mia one last time. Mia was smiling encouragingly and Mike gave her a thumbs up to show his support. When Emily was ready she traced her symbol and launched it into the box. The symbol was absorbed by the box and everyone held their breath as they waited to see what happened.

Suddenly the box began to shake. Emily took a few steps back, afraid she hadn't traced the symbol properly and the box was going to fire it right back. Mike placed himself slightly in front of Mia, protecting his already injured teammate should the box decide to be difficult. Mentor Ji and the other Rangers by the house didn't move a muscle as they waited patiently.

Just when the Rangers thought nothing was going to happen, there was a loud bang and rocks, dirt, dust and sand flew everywhere, blowing everyone back and knocking them to the ground. A sandstorm raged, the earth trembled and small pebbles rained down from the sky for a moment before everything settled. Mike and Mia lifted their heads from the ground while Kevin, Jayden, Antonio and Mentor lowered their arms, which they had used to shield their faces from the storm.

"Emily!" Mike shouted, not even thinking twice as he pushed himself to his feet and raced over to Emily, who had been right next to the box when it went off. Kevin did the same with Mia, jumping off the porch to check up on her.

"I'm fine, Kev," Mia promised as he inspected her arm. There was a slight crack in the cast, but Mentor Ji would easily be able to fix that. He looked into her eyes and smiled, relieved to see she was okay.

Jayden and Antonio hurried over to check on Emily, forgetting about the Black Box completely when they saw Mike was having trouble trying to wake her up. Mentor Ji was the only one who approached the spot where the box used to be. He smiled to himself when all he saw was a yellow Stone on the ground. He picked it up and turned to his six Samurai.

"Em, wake up," Mike called, desperately trying to shake his girlfriend awake. It felt like ages before he heard her moan and her hand went to her head.

"Did I get it?" she asked. Mike pulled her into his arms and held her tight, thankful she seemed fine.

"Are you okay?" he asked her, pushing her away slightly so he could look her over and check up on her himself. "Are you hurt? Is there any pain?"

"Did I get it?" Emily asked again. Mike looked over his shoulder, trying to see if he could spot a stone or an open box. Mentor held out his hand to show the Earth Stone. Mike chuckled and nodded his head. He turned back to Emily.

"Yeah, Em, you got it."

"Can I take a nap, now?"

"Just tell me you're okay and I'll let you sleep," Mike smiled. "Is there any part of your body that really hurts? Anything that feels weird or…"

"My butt's vibrating," Emily giggled tiredly. Mike looked at her curiously, and then exchanged looks with Mentor and the other Rangers. They were each asking the others if they felt anything moving or vibrating, like the aftershock to the Stone's Earthquake.

When they all realised it was just Emily, they looked back down at her. She had already fallen asleep in Mike's arms, so they wouldn't be getting answers from her.

Finally, it dawned on Jayden and he reached into Emily's back pocket and pulled out her cell phone. He checked the number, just to make sure it was safe to answer, before passing the phone onto Mia.

"It's Serena."

"She's probably calling to see if we found the Stones," Mia nodded her head and took the phone from Jayden's hand. She answered it with a smirk, "You're not going to believe what we just did to Emily!"

"One of these days we're going to give Serena a heart attack," Jayden shook his head as Mia told Serena everything that just happened, especially the part about Emily being caught in the middle of the highly guarded, highly explosive Earth box.

Mentor handed Mike the Earth Stone and Mike immediately placed it in Emily's hand, wrapping her fingers around it. He smiled when he saw the inside of the Stone turn into a sandstorm. Now he knew for sure they had the right rock and all this hadn't been for nothing.

"Do you want to put the Stone with the others, Mike?" Jayden asked as he started to take Emily from Mike's arms, "I'll put her in her bed."

"Thanks," Mike nodded and took the Stone back from Emily before following Antonio inside. Mia hung up Emily's phone and looked at Kevin with a slight pout.

"Serena's not very nice," she said. Kevin chuckled and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Why's that?"

"I tell her I broke my wrist and almost fell to my doom and she just keeps asking if Emily's okay."

"To be fair," Kevin laughed, "all you told her was that Emily couldn't come to the phone because she just blew herself up. She probably assumed you were okay and wanted to know about Emily."

"Still, she could have at least asked me if I was okay," Mia's sulking wasn't genuine so Kevin knew he was fine to laugh and shake his head. He pulled her in for a kiss.

"Are you okay, Mia?" he asked her.

"Yes, Kevin. Thank you for asking."

"If you two are done," Mentor Ji cleared his throat, reminding the couple he was still within earshot. He gave them both a look, "now that we have all five Samurai Stones it is vital we keep them from falling into anyone else's hands. Even in the hands of an innocent child the Stones can cause more destruction than Master Xandred if mistreated."

"In other words," Kevin looked at Mia and sighed, "Guard them with our lives."

"Even from each other," Mentor Ji added. "Now that all the Stones are together, they must only be handled by you Rangers. Kevin, while Antonio completes the programming of the Water Stone, I suggest you keep a very careful eye on what he's doing. If anything strikes you as odd or makes you feel uncomfortable you are to make him stop what he is doing. Am I making myself clear?"

"Very," Mia and Kevin nodded their heads. Mentor Ji looked his two students in the eye one final time before heading off. Kevin pulled Mia in close and whispered in her ear.

"Whatever's inside that Black Box better be worth all this trouble," he said.


End file.
